For many years I have kept a Design Source Notebook for quilting and needlework. I’ve not added much to it recently, but I decided to pull it out to spark my imagination for the cover for the journal I will be making for the techniques class for journal makers that I’m taking with Sue Bleiweiss.
I put all kinds of things in this notebook: photos pulled from magazines, ads, wrapping paper, doodles, and lots of other odds and ends; anything I think may provide inspiration sometime.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for this cover, but I knew I wanted to use some of the fabric I dyed earlier this year. So I started out just by looking through the notebook before going to my fabric palette.
I came upon this two-page photograph that I pulled out of some magazine years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t note where it came from or the photographer’s name. That’s something I would proabably do now. But then again I might not, since I’m not going to copy the photograph. I’m just using it for inspiration.
This beautiful sunset and the prickly pear cacti remind me of the American Southwest that I love so much and miss here in Virginia.
I’ve pulled out these fabrics and I’m going to do some kind of loose interpretation of the photo. I’ll be using applique and embroidery, and I’m pretty sure there will be beads. I’ll be stretching myself to do more machine work than handwork, since I’m not very practiced in it, but there will be handwork as well.
I’m quite certain I won’t have this finished by the time the next lesson arrives, but since this is the overall cover for the journal, I think I can work on it while I work on the inside. It’s also way more complicated than what is expected for the class, but since I’ve already done several simpler journal covers, I want to make this one more intricate.
In the class we’ll be learning lots of different techniques and then applying them to some of our own work. I’ve decided that this is going to be a “small quilts” journal with multi-media quilts employing different techniques and materials.
I got this idea from Jeanne Williamson‘s book The Uncommon Quilter that I checked out from my local library. Jeanne gave herself the assignment to make a quilt a week for seven years and used a variety of non-traditional materials and techniques as a creative challenge. She has some very interesting and inspiring pieces on her website. And she talks about her work in progress on her blog.
I’m not planning to be quite that prolific, but I’m hoping the process will stretch and challenge me in process and creativity.
